Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the value of working with an optician certified by the American Board of Opticianry?
Since there is no state licensure of opticians in Wisconsin, many individuals selling eyeglasses lack even a basic understanding of optical principles. After some quick sales training, they are selling glasses. Consulting with an ABO-certified optician minimizes the risk of a bad eyewear experience. We schedule each client for an unhurried, no-obligation consultation. This ensures that we and you have time to get all of our questions asked and answered.

Do I need to make an appointment or may I just walk in?
Appointments are required for eye exams. Eyewear is an important purchase and we think every client deserves to have the time and attention necessary to consider the options and make good choices. If you walk in without an eyewear consultation appointment at a time when we have availability between scheduled clients, we’ll be delighted to serve you. However, scheduling is advisable because your time is valuable and those who are scheduled have priority. The fact that we favor working with our clients by appointment is just one of several things that distinguish Bronze Optical from other eyewear shops. Please keep in mind that scheduling a consultation appointment does not obligate you to make a purchase. It simply ensures that you will have our undivided attention.

Am I required to have an eye exam with the optometrist at Bronze Optical?
If you have a satisfying connection with an optometrist or ophthalmologist, we encourage you to keep that connection and have your exam done there. Establishing a history with one doctor can be very helpful in tracking changes in your vision and eye health. If, however, you wish to change eye doctors, please call us to make an appointment with Dr. Cook.

If I have my eye exam performed at Bronze Optical, may I take my lens prescription elsewhere?
Yes, absolutely. Federal law specifies that upon payment for services the patient is to be given a copy of the prescription. If it is not offered, do not hesitate to request a written copy of your prescription from your eye doctor, nor should you hesitate to request that your eye doctor supply your prescription directly to your optician.

What are digital lenses?
High-definition eyeglass lenses are commonly called digital lenses. The term digital refers to an advanced manufacturing process that reduces higher-prescription aberrations that occur in lenses made with traditional manufacturing processes. Your prescription, put simply, is the relationship between the several curves on front and back lens surfaces. With digital lenses, these curved surfaces are positioned in relation to each other in a way that optimizes the accuracy of vision correction.

What are the benefits of digital lenses?
Digital lenses provide high-definition vision at all distances—sharper images and improved contrast sensitivity. They help reduce aberrations that limit peripheral vision and cause starbursts, halos, and comet-shaped distortions of lights at night. For those who wear progressive, no-line bifocals, digital lenses provide a wider, smoother, more generous reading width.

Why shouldn’t everyone wear digital lenses?
Some prescriptions do not justify the greater expense of digitally surfaced lenses, nor do all prescriptions benefit significantly from this technology. Lens prescriptions that are more complex—with cylinder or high spherical power—are good candidates for digital. Lenses for unusually large frames may be wisely done in digital to minimize peripheral distortion, or to minimize edge thickness for near-sighted prescriptions. But don’t be talked into paying for digital if it’s not necessary for your situation.

What’s the value of computer glasses?
By one’s forties, most of us become presbyopic and need bifocals or progressive no-line lenses. By one’s fifties, typically, the eyes have changed further and the strain on the neck from tilting the chin upwards in an effort to view the computer screen clearly can become quite bothersome. Eyestrain can also cause headaches. These miseries can be eliminated by computer glasses, in which the top half of the lens is for viewing the screen and the bottom half is for up-close reading, desktop or laptop. We can help you determine if computer glasses are right for you.

What’s the value of BluTech lenses?
BluTech lenses help to protect the eyes from the damage and discomfort that can result from extended viewing of LED-lit screens on computers, TVs, phones, tablets, and other devices. These lenses block 98% of high-energy blue UV light, thus protecting the inside of the eye. BluTech lenses include anti-reflective (non-glare) treatment to further optimize vision. They are available for use both indoors and outdoors, in any frame style, and can be worn with or without a prescription.

How long does it take to get a pair of eyeglasses?
Eyeglasses can be ready in as little as two days to as much as ten days, depending on the particulars. Complex prescriptions and certain lens features require more time. We leave the fabricating of your eyeglasses to laboratory professionals. At Bronze Optical, we promise to take more than an hour making your glasses!

My frame is broken. Can you put my lenses into a new frame?
If your lenses are in good condition, there’s no reason not to get more use out of them. We are happy to supply you with a new frame for your existing lenses if we have one that they fit into. If modification of lens shape is necessary, you would need to be without your glasses for at least a day.

Can I get new lenses put into a frame I already have?
Yes. We’re not interested in seeing you spend money on a frame if you already have one. We will inspect your frame and make new lenses if it’s in reusable condition.

Do you have frames for adults with small faces?
Yes. We make a point of having a varied and appealing selection of frames to suit adults with small faces. While most eyewear shops overlook the need for attractive, stylish, adult frames in small sizes, we keep an eye out for such frames from a range of European frame makers.

What forms of insurance do you take?
Bronze Optical and Dr. Andy Cook are credentialed providers for many vision insurance plans. Please see our insurance page for details.

I’m allergic to nickel. Do you have any metal frames I could wear?
Yes. You have choices of either surgical quality stainless steel or titanium. Also, there are frame styles with metal fronts and plastic temples that may increase your options.

Can I afford to buy glasses at Bronze Optical?
Our “fabulous and affordable” slogan has never meant that Bronze Optical is the cheapest place to buy eyewear. If you like the idea of working with an experienced, friendly professional to get glasses you love and that serve and suit you perfectly, you should give us a call. We are rigorous in selecting the frames we carry: Frames that not only look great but are well made and durable are not cheap. The laboratories we work with to design and fabricate the lenses for our clients’ eyewear excel in meeting our high quality standards. Again, this does not come cheaply. “Good enough” is not good enough for us. We give our clients a great look, excellent vision, high quality, and superior service at a fair price. Our opticians are able to make this happen because they have many years of training and experience and they really care about their work. Their pay is commensurate with their expertise. As a locally owned small business, we excel in coming through with many great things that bigger businesses can’t match, but lowest price will never be one of them.

Before I tried Bronze Optical, getting new glasses was something I dreaded. Bronze took the time to get to know me and guided me through many terrific options to just the perfect frames. Now when my prescription changes I love visiting his shop and selecting new eyewear. I won't go anywhere else.